View full sizeDick Blume / The Post Standard Lawyer Michael Marmor during his sentencing in Onondaga County Court for stealing from clients. His attorney is Thomas Miller, on the right.

Syracuse, NY – Manlius lawyer Michael Marmor was sentenced today to 1 1/3 to four years in state prison for stealing more than $750,000 from clients and cheating on his state taxes by failing to report the extra income.

Dressed in jail clothing, Marmor told Onondaga County Judge Joseph Fahey there were no words to adequately express his apology for what he had done.

“I will spend the rest of my life trying to repair the damage I have caused,” he said.

He could have faced up to 15 years in prison. Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert DeMarco today asked Fahey to sentence Marmor to at least three to nine years.

Authorities contend Marmor stole more than $350,000 from a client’s estate after he had been suspended from practicing law in May 2009. Authorities contend he stole more than $300,000 from other clients prior to that suspension.

Defense lawyer Thomas Miller today said Marmor had encountered a “cash-flow crisis” and had turned to private investment companies to borrow money at exorbitant rates of interest.

“He got in way over his head,” Miller said.

Miller said Marmor has lost his license to practice law, his marriage of about 30 years and his home as a result of his conduct. But Miller said the Jewish Technical Vocational School in Brooklyn has offered Marmor a teaching job so he can start his life over.

Marmor has spent the last 16 months in the Justice Center Jail, where he has developed a reputation for teaching other inmates to prepare for their GED tests, Miller said.

“Mike, I don’t know what you were thinking,” Fahey said, adding he remains baffled by Marmor’s motivation.

The state Lawyer’s Fund has made full restitution to Marmor’s victims but Marmor will be required to pay back the fund $487,594. He also is required to pay Alliance Bank $268,184.81 for money it paid to the Lawyer’s Fund to cover some of the victim losses. He will be required to pay $114,668 to cover the liability for his false tax returns.